General Articles

Prophecy, Revelation, and COVID :: By Bill Wilson

Published on: by RR7

Some Bible teachers are saying that we are well into the Revelation prophecies because COVID was like one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Let us not be confused concerning this.

Revelation 6 describes six of the seven seals opened by the Lamb of God, each passing a judgment on the earth. The White Horse is ridden by a conqueror; then a red horse symbolizing war; then a black horse of inflation; then the pale horse ridden by Death, empowered to kill with sword, hunger, death, and the beasts of the earth. None of these horsemen are COVID because of the many prophecies that must take place before these final seal judgments. But COVID is certainly a type and shadow of things to come.

In Matthew 24, Christ prophesies the chronology for the end of the age, beginning with verse 4, “Take heed that no man deceive you.”

Summing it up [Matthew 24]:

  • There will be false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes—which Christ calls the beginning of sorrows.
  • Then there will be persecution, betrayals, false prophets, and the gospel preached in all the world.
  • After that, the Abomination of Desolation will be seen as the beast (who many call the antichrist) who will desecrate the temple.
  • After that, there will be great tribulation. “And except those days be should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”
  • After that, Christ says there will be darkness, the Son of Man will come in the clouds, and, at the sound of a trumpet, the elect will be gathered.

As we look at COVID from a prophetic lens, never in history has there been a worldwide shutdown because of a disease. In addition, we can see how quickly the world can be brought under the control of political forces. Lockdowns, mask mandates, vaccine mandates, vaccine passports are all indicative of not only a great pestilence but also of not being able to buy or sell, eat or travel without a COVID vaccine. It is eerily similar to Revelation 13:17, “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” What is missing is the beast.

COVID is not the beast, but it certainly lays the groundwork for the beast and demonstrates how fast the beast could rise to power and mandate his worship by locking down commerce and killing all who refuse to abide in his blasphemy.

These indeed are perilous times. But remember we are not given a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and of a sound mind. Be careful to not be deceived. Bible teachers sometimes are quick to jump to conclusions based on what they think a verse means, or want it to mean, rather than taking it in context.

Don’t take what I am saying or anyone else without studying it for yourself. When you compare what the prophets say about the end times with Christ’s very specific teaching in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, you will see how the events of the end will unfold.

Do not be deceived. Neither fear. But gain understanding and peace that you might discern the events of our time to bring others to Christ.

Posted in The Daily Jot

7 Reasons Why the COVID Vaccine Is Not the Mark of the Beast :: By Tim Buck

Published on: by RR7

Introduction

There have been many conspiracies and rumors surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine, and one has people thinking the vaccine is the Mark of the Beast.

The phrase “Mark of the Beast” can be found in Revelation 13. Some Christians believe if they get the vaccine, they will be marked for hell. This is written in the hope of stopping those rumors.

“He [False Prophet] forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name” (Revelation 13:16-17).

  1. The biblical mark of the beast is external, not in the bloodstream, and must be visibly worn on the outside of the forehead or right hand. The mark is a literal, visible branding of sorts like the Nazi swastika or ISIS headband. It must be displayed and easily seen to function as a passport for commerce.
  2. The mark-of-the-beast does not begin until the middle of the 7-year Tribulation. The context of Revelation 13 shows the marking campaign is enforced by the False Prophet, who doesn’t begin his evil campaign until the second half of the Tribulation.

“The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months” (Revelation 13:5).

  1. The mark of the beast is only authorized by one person, which Revelation 13 identifies as the False Prophet. Neither Dr. Fauci, Bill Gates, nor anyone else qualifies as the False Prophet who carries out the monstrous plans of Antichrist. Nor does wearing the logos of the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control qualify as the mark. Only the False Prophet has the authority to implement such a devious program.

“He [False Prophet] exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed” (Revelation 13:12).

  1. According to Revelation 13:17-18, it is mandatory for the mark to brandish at least one of two required statements:

“They could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name” (Revelation 13:17).

Here we see that the mark can either display the name of the beast, or it can simply exhibit the number associated with the beast, which equates to 666. The COVID vaccination does not contain either of these required statements.

  1. The purpose of the mark of the beast is to pledge allegiance and to outwardly show one’s full submission to the beast. The “beast” is a symbolic term for the empire of Antichrist. Wearing the mark has absolutely nothing to do with any kind of medical treatment for a pandemic or disease.
  2. The beast in this context refers to the final 10-king empire, which is ruled over by Antichrist in the Tribulation. Beginning in Daniel 2 through Revelation 17, the 10-king empire (beast) is mentioned or alluded to some 20 times, showing it is a crucial sign of the last days. But neither the empire nor the Tribulation period has arrived yet, making it impossible for the vaccination to be the “mark of the beast”!

Daniel 7:23 further tells us that the empire (the beast) will rise up in the last days BEFORE Antichrist makes his first appearance in the world. Since the empire hasn’t arrived yet, neither has Antichrist or the False Prophet. All three must be in place as prerequisites to the start of any kind of marking campaign.

  1. Everyone will know precisely when they are taking the mark. The life and death conditions and dangerous atmosphere surrounding the campaign are public, not secret. The death penalty for not taking the mark makes it impossible to take it accidentally, like some are trying to infer is happening by taking the vaccination.

To ensure everyone gets the message, the Bible says God sends out an angel who flies through the heavens with a loud voice saying, “DON’T TAKE THE MARK OF THE BEAST.” So if you take the mark, there will be no excuse since one is choosing to worship Antichrist and not Jesus Christ.

“A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: ‘If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name” (Revelation 14:9-11).

Lastly, it helps to remember that, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, Christians will not see Antichrist. The One who “holds back” Antichrist is none other than the Holy Spirit. When the restraining influence of the Spirit is removed from this world—along with the church that the Spirit indwells—then Antichrist will be revealed and will have free rein.

Regardless of how bad things seem to be deteriorating today, evil is still being hindered by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers all over the world. But once the church age ends, the obstruction of the indwelling Holy Spirit will be removed, allowing the man of sin to come forth.

Without Antichrist here yet, the mark cannot be here yet. The special promise to the church is that Antichrist will not be revealed until Jesus returns for the church and catches us up to heaven!

Maranatha… Even so, come, Lord Jesus!